


In These Ashes

by lunafrak



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-07
Updated: 2015-11-12
Packaged: 2018-04-30 10:49:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5160971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunafrak/pseuds/lunafrak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young woman is given the chance to leave the hardships of the slums behind. Life begins anew; yet each beginning bodes an eventual end. </p>
<p>Creative liberty taken with materia; canonxoc in future chatpers</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Finally, a chance to make some good money.

The young woman scrabbled to keep her threadbare jacket closed around her shivering body. She watched a small party brewing at the home of yet another Shinra elite. A young blond man was seen as he greeted many a suited figure as they congratulated him. Echoes of ‘well done, Lazard’ were heard on his porch. Something about him being promoted to Director.

But she had other concerns. She sidled along the brick wall, approached the archway, and pulled out a small metal device, almost resembling a lantern base.

Lumi Ucello, affectionately known as the vagrant butler, was once again at the service of those whose pockets promised compensation.

She smiled as she spotted a familiar face, and her icebreaker.

“Keep your jacket warm for the walk home, Mr. Tuesti?” She chirped. Her voice became high and falsetto in her attempts to catch his attention.

Reeve Tuesti’s typical smile greeted her. “Miss Lumi. As usual I find you at my beck and whim.”

Other arrivals were eyeing the young woman, murmuring to themselves as Reeve approached her and handed her his jacket.

“I’ll have it nice and warm for your trip home,” she promised sweetly.

“Tuesti, you think that’s wise?” Belted a larger man from the archway that led into the yard.

“Heidegger, I trust miss Lumi. She has never let me down before.”

“You know this mongrel?” Heidegger sniffed as Reeve walked towards the entrance.

“Lumi is a dear friend. Come; let’s not keep Lazard waiting.” Reeve was about to vanish from sight before he turned back to Lumi. “I expect a full tutorial on how that gadget works, miss.”

Lumi smiled as he disappeared. Just as he did, several others at the entrance stared at the young woman. “I can do the same for everyone else; keep your jackets warm, 10 gil per coat!” She presented Mr. Tuesti’s coat, and offered a view of the bronze gadget she toted around. “I have my very own personal warmer; my patented radiator has a small, compact core, yet delivers an equal, powerful wave of heat, leaving your coats, scarves, gloves, and mufflers comfy for the chilly trip back home.” She held the radiator within her right hand, wrapping the coat around the device and her arm. Within a few mere seconds, she removed the coat. “See for yourself!”

Within half a minute, she was nearly covered in furs and suit jackets, the crowd immensely impressed with how well the little radiator worked on Reeve’s garments. She smiled as she pocketed another 10 gil while she made agreements on departure times for the owners.

Within another minute, the party had officially started, and Lumi sat alone on the handsome bench, surrounded in fine attire. She looked at her radiator and smiled widely. The device was only half of her success.

She looked around, and made sure no one was watching. She hid her Radiator under a luxurious, white fur coat, and pulled down the sleeve on her right arm. She tugged at the bandages on her forearm, which were ornamental these days, merely used to hide what lay underneath.

Embedded under a thin layer of skin in her right arm, rested a green shard of materia. She hovered a thin hand over the shard and watched as it faintly glowed. Soon enough, from her right arm to the rest of her body, a surge of warmth calmed her shivering frame. After six years of learning how to use the fragments of a fire materia from within her skin, as well as a shard from some ice materia within her left arm, paired with some street smarts, Lumi had an advantage most didn’t.

She was always on the lookout to make sure she wasn’t recognized by the man she swindled the materia off of in her mid-teens. The pieces in her arms had been chipped off in order to avoid the risk of being caught under the plate with desired materia. The rest of the orbs were hidden in a pile of rubble in her home of the Sector 3 slums, and with the assistance of the materia, she was able to make it seem like she’d invented this extraordinary, yet crude piece of machinery. While the materia was the source of heat, the radiator helped disperse the heat equally; yet she was not the inventor. The radiator was simply an old heating element from a furnace, identified as such by her father. However, feigning a bit of intelligence and pluck was more likely to earn an extra gil than just using materia in place of wit. Whatever bit of money she could make was important; her parents down in the slums needed all the help they could get.

“You look tired tonight, Miss Lumi.”

Lumi jumped, gasping as she turned to find Reeve walking her way.

“M-Mister Tuesti, are you leaving already?” She retrieved the radiator and found his coat, quickly beginning to warm it up.

Chuckling, Reeve shook his head. “Not yet, Lumi. I’m just; I’m surprised you’re still doing this.”

“What do you mean?”

Reeve sat down next to her, looking at her eye-to-eye. “I’ve known you for three years now. Struggling for work, trying to support both you and your parents in the slums.”

“Well… yeah, I mean… We need to survive.”

“Lumi, you’re such a hard worker. You’re always trying to make a bit of gil, to the point where I’ve seen you be so tired afterwards, you’ve taken refuge in an alley for the night because the trip back home would be just as long. You can’t keep living like that.”

Lumi stared at him, unsure of what he wanted. She swallowed hard, looking down at the coat she held in her lap. “What… what do you want from me?”

“Let me help you.” Reeve smiled. “There are some openings in Shinra right now; they may not be the most glamorous positions, but… it’s better than scraping for odd jobs.”

“W-work for Shinra?” Lumi scoffed. “Me? I’m not good at anything!”

“You’re resourceful. How else did you build your little heater? May I see-?”

“N-Not at the moment,” Lumi interrupted. “It-It’s hot; I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

“I see.” Reeve smiled more. “In that case, I’ll give you some time to think about my offer. I’m quite serious about it.”

Looking into his eyes, Lumi knew he meant well, and the offer was most likely legitimate. She was overwhelmed; an opportunity like this had never surfaced before.

“I’ll… I’ll think about it. Thank you.”

Reeve sighed. “Excellent. Well; I’ll see you soon.” He reached out to touch her shoulder; and his eyes widened. “L-Lumi.”

“Hmm?”

Blinking fast, Reeve’s hand reached up to touch her forehead. “You’re burning up. Are you alright?”

“Shit.” She needed to tone it down with that fire materia; but to quickly excuse herself, she turned her head and faked a cough into the nook of her arm. “It’s nothing but a fever; I’m fine. It’s this weather we’ve been having.”

Looking at her, concerned, all Reeve could do was nod. “Right. Well… I’ll see you in an hour or so, Lumi. Can you have an answer by then?”

She hadn’t removed her mouth from her arm; the offer at Shinra hung within her grasp. To work for the very company that was the reason she had lived in dust and dirt her entire life.

But what other choice did she have?

“Reeve …I have an answer right now.”


	2. chapter 2

“These are awful nice clothes. That Tuesti man got them for you?”

Lumi continued to pack her suitcase as her mother poured over the several new outfits purchased for her. “Reeve’s a sweet guy. He’s always tipped me well.”

“Lumi… are you sure he doesn’t have other things on his mind?”

“Mom, no. Reeve’s not like that.”

“Why else would-”

“Mom.” Lumi turned around to look at her mother, frustrated, but understanding. “This is the best chance I’ve had to have a stable job to keep us all afloat. Please. I can take care of myself.”

“… I just worry. It’s Shinra.”

“Well it’s either bust my ass and make good money doing shady things, or bust my ass for no money doing shady things.”

“Lumi,” Mr. Ucello’s voice rose slightly. “Watch your tone, young lady.”

“Yes, sir.”

Lumi looked at the manila envelope resting on her pillow. Inside of it were train tickets and papers for orientation as a new employee working for the Shinra Electric Company. The fact that she was hired for anything was an absolute surprise. She had spent the past few days wondering what she would be doing.

She returned to packing her clothes as her mom watched morosely from the bed.

“Where will you stay?” Her mother asked. “The building is so far.”

Lumi folded a white, button up shirt and placed it into the suitcase. “Shinra offers low-income housing for new employees until they can afford their own place.”

“Is it safe?”

“I- I don’t know.”

“I don’t think you should go.”

Lumi stopped packing, doing her best not to lose her temper.

“Mom. I have to do this. I can’t keep earning pocket change to feed all of us!”

“Isn’t there anything else you can do?”

“Mom, I don’t have any skills. I scavenge, I’ve been conning people for years. That’s it. But they hired me, so they see something they can put me to use for.”

“Probably a guinea pig for their science department,” Lumi’s father grunted. Her mother gaped at him, horrified.

“Tollak don’t joke about that!”

Lumi sighed, returning to packing. “I’ll be fine. I promise. I haven’t gotten this far for nothing.”

She wasn’t due to show up at headquarters for another day, but Lumi had to depart with little sleep at 3:30 AM to catch the train. What rest she got, she spent it with her mother’s arms around her waist; clinging to her only child for what could be the last time.

Lumi stared into the darkness. It didn’t matter whether she was going to be safe or not. She’d already scraped and pressed the thin envelope of safety plenty of times. At least she’d be earning a living this way. But her heart hung heavy as all she knew was suddenly shifting.

She was still awake by the time her alarm was set to ring. She slinked out of bed, wrote a small note to her parents, and gathered her suitcase and papers before leaving the small shack.

They lived on the outskirts of the sector. Tantalizingly close to the gates. But with little to no money, they were stuck in Midgar. It would take Lumi at least an hour’s walk to the train station. She began her trek, unraveling the bandages around her forearms for better access to her materia, should she need it for safety.

****  
“Thank you for boarding Shinra Mark I, our next destination is sector 7.”

“Lumi? Lumi, are you alright?”

She moaned, and winced at a painful crick in her neck as she lifted her head. She turned to find a familiar face taking a seat next to her, setting his briefcase on his lap.

“Reeve.” She sat up, stretching and yawning as Reeve sat beside her, laughing.

“Not a lot of sleep?”

“I’m headed to the housing complex. Rest up before my first day.”

“Good idea. I keep forgetting how far your home is.”

Lumi stared up at the ceiling of the train, humming in agreement. She looked back at him, straightening up. “Reeve. I can’t thank you enough for your help.”

He smiled back. “I’m glad to be of assistance. But; are you sure all you wanted were long-sleeved shirts?”

“Positive. Thanks,” she happily replied, taking a quick peek at her arms to ensure she did indeed replace the bandages.

It wasn’t a half an hour later that Reeve was waking her up again. She was at her stop.

“I’ll go with you,” he offered. “Headquarters is nearby anyway. I’ll show you the way to the complex.”

Lumi nearly stumbled along the way, caught in a fog of fatigue. She and Reeve soon arrived at a tall, boxy building. He aided her in signing in, and helped carry her luggage to her room, which was thankfully only on the second floor. A thank you and a goodbye later, and Lumi had drifted off once again before waking up in the middle of the afternoon. She sat up, rubbing her face as she finally felt rested, despite the stiff bed that was currently in her possession. She looked down, noticing her suitcase laying sideways on the floor. On the nightstand next to her, which was bare save for an outdated lamp, were keys. Undoubtedly to the suite. She looked ahead, where a tiny kitchen was located. To her right, towards the door, was a desk paired with a fold-up chair. Another stiff-looking armchair was sitting in front of an old television. She took a quick tour, checking out her bathroom and the kitchen amenities.

“Still more than home. And they’re only gonna charge me 75 gil a paycheck? Not bad.”

A sudden, violent-sounding ruckus from upstairs gave clues as to why the payments were so low.

“… alright. I… I can deal with that.”

She sat down on the bed again, quickly tuning out the noise as she realized where she was. Her own place; on top of the plate. She remembered bits and pieces of her trek; and one thing was for sure:

“I need to find Reeve.”

****  
For her first venture, Lumi sought out the Shinra building, which wasn’t hard to do. She approached it, in awe of the mammoth structure. She’d never seen it up close before.

Instead of waltzing in, she waited at a set of benches, bundled up in her new coat. Reeve had often mentioned he left work by 6. In the time she waited, she watched multiple people walk past, most of them not noticing her. Many of them were men or women in business suits, or lab coats. She felt so out of place as they spoke quickly on their phones; about work, or life, or what was for dinner. 

Just as she’d become bored with fidgeting, and her stomach gurgled unhappily for food, she noticed someone approaching her. “I just keep running into you.”

Lumi finally smiled. “Reeve,” she swiftly stood to give him a hug. “I’m so sorry about this morning. I was-“

“I’m not going to be angry with you for needing sleep,” Reeve responded lightheartedly.

“… You’ve done so much for me Reeve. I don’t have anything to offer.”

“Of course you do. Just give Shinra the kind of persistence and enthusiasm I’ve seen you give before when you work.”

“That’s easy to say,” Lumi huffed, shrugging as her arms fell to her sides in frustration. “I still don’t know what my job is.”

“Oh, they didn’t tell you? They’ve stationed you with the science department.”

Lumi felt a chill of fear brew in her stomach. “Oh no, I’m gonna be a guinea pig.”

“Unfortunately with your level of experience, the only position available for you is something along the lines of ‘assistant secretary’.”

“… And what do they do?”

“Coffee runs. Lots and lots of coffee runs; and running paperwork between labs.”

“O-oh.”

“But not to worry. With your demeanor, you’ll do very well.”

****

“WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?”

Lumi jumped as a shrieking voice behind her demanded a sudden answer to something she didn’t know. She transferred a coffee to another scientist who smirked at the situation.

“I’m sorry?”

“I said: What the hell is this?!” The livid man behind her opened the lid to his coffee, shoving the scalding liquid dangerously close towards Lumi’s face. “THIS IS DECAF. I WANTED AN ESPRESSO.”

“Good grief how many kinds of coffee are there?!” Lumi sighed to herself before taking the drink back. “I-I’m sorry, sir. I’ll be right back.”

“I HAVE A PRESENTATION ON OUR MAKO STATISTICS IN FIFTEEN MINUTES; LET’S GO.”

Lumi rushed back to the coffee room; prepping the espresso machine with shaky hands. Her heart felt as though it was going to burst out of her chest if one more thing went wrong.

“Day two… I can do this.”


	3. chapter 3

With her shoes clicking furiously on the sleek tiles of the Shinra building, Lumi hurried to her next destination, her arms full of drink caddies. Lab 3’s order was finished; and once she’d delivered their coffee, she was due to relay some folders from there to lab 6. She approached the sliding door, wedging it open with her foot before it finally allowed her in. She heard voices as she walked to a side table, placing the coffees with the names of their designated requesters outwards. She hadn’t noticed the talking come to a halt, nor the eyes of half a dozen interns staring her way.

“Girl.” 

She jumped, turning to find a sallow-faced older man at the head of the group; the fluorescent lighting glared off of his spectacles in a rather ominous manner. The corners of his mouth pulled downwards, almost grotesquely as he sneered at her. “What business do you have in here?”

Lumi looked at him, feeling the color drain from her face. The scientist adjusted his glasses as he glared at her. She did her best not to choke on her words. “I-I’m so-sorry, sir.”

Failing already.

“Are you now? Can you not tell we’re busy?”

“W-were these not your order?”

“Unimportant. What is important, is that you get your filthy hide out of my lab.”

Her mouth bobbed for words as he cheeks burned. She sought to refill her lungs with air as she stumbled out of the lab, apologizing under her breath, and the snickering of the interns. She looked at the number on the outside of the lab, and she cursed loudly. She was at the wrong lab; and she was unable to go back in. She cursed even louder as she turned on her heel; trying to remember each coffee she had been asked to retrieve.

“What a jackass, just tell me to leave, I don’t need a dragging, stupid, horse faced mothe-”

“What a tongue.”

Lumi turned, her cheeks burning once again as she hadn’t noticed someone walking behind her. He passed her by, a stocky scientist, bearded and more casually dressed than most as he smirked. “Don’t worry; he and I have called each other worse. He’ll say much worse to you, eventually.”

Lumi’s tension dropped to irritation. “Thanks.” She grunted.

“My pleasure, coffee girl. By the way, Lab 3’s locked its doors already. They were late enough as it is.”

****

“You want to quit? But you just-”

“I know I just started, Reeve. But… I can’t keep doing this.” Lumi sat on her bed, staring at the bowl of soup in her lap. Reeve sat across from her, having moved the stiff armchair to face her as she sat on the bed. He dug into his own portion of soup she had made, looking at her worriedly. “They’re… they’re horrible! I was late getting the order in to lab 3; which means I was late getting the folders to lab 6; they were livid.”

“I’m sorry this has been a struggle. But; just wait it out until I can find another department to transfer you to. Please?”

Lumi had never felt this worried to go anywhere. Back out on the street, she was capable of making her money while not looking like a complete idiot. But it wasn’t a lot of money.

“Alright. I’ll wait. But I can’t guarantee anything after so long. I was coming here to make a living; not to be punted around like a living hackeysack.”

“You’re tough, Lumi. You can get through this.”

She snorted, digging into her soup once more, not looking at him as she ate another spoonful, her eyes glossy with tears.

She dreaded waking up the next day. She was almost late due to how many times she’d pressed her snooze button; but in the end, she was stuck. She got up, dressed, grabbed a stale pastry from her countertop and bolted out of the door.

She was the first one in the lounge of the science department, as usual. She found the stack of Shinra-issued notices and the itinerary for the day, which were piled neatly in the lounge for when the scientists clocked in. As coffee brewed, she walked to each lab, filling their mailboxes with assigned folders and paperwork; much of it was sealed in envelopes, tucked away from her eyes. She hustled back to the lounge, where the bespectacled, sallow-faced scientist from the previous day had just entered, looking over the itinerary as he mumbled to himself before spotting Lumi.

“Girl. Coffee, large, no cream,” he snapped, not even looking at her. He returned to the itinerary. “No, no, no, I’m too busy for that today; they’ll have to find someone else to waste their time with that.”

Lumi ignored the twisting in her stomach as she reassembled the now-filled coffee urns and served him his brew. “It’s hot, so be caref-“

He grabbed the cup, not paying attention as he walked away as he continued to read. She was almost committed to spouting something that would surely get her fired before-

“Coffee! Thank you!”

Lumi turned to find a young woman bustling in, her labcoat almost falling off of her shoulders in her wake.

“Oh ma’am, let me.” Lumi insisted, trying to hide her frustration. The scientist watched, smoothing back her chestnut curls.

“Thank you.” She replied, smiling wide at Lumi, taking the offered brew. “I’m sorry, are you new?”

Lumi brightened up at the conversational tone in her voice. “I am. My name’s Lumi. It’s my eighth day here. I’m, er, ‘assistant secretary’.”

“Ahh; you got the coffee runner spot,” the scientist groaned sympathetically. Lumi nodded back, her face scrunching in the distress of her reply. “Well, I’m Portia; I’ve been out for a couple of weeks; family emergency. If any of these divas give you grief, come to me. Me and my girls will help you out.”

Lumi felt a wave of relief wash over her. “Thank you. Y-your girls?”

Portia smiled. “My friends. I mean, we’re kind of new scientists; fresh outta grad school; but we all interned here for years, and if any of the little worms under Hojo’s thumb decide to act up, my best friend knows a few moves.”

“Would that be Bai Ling?”

The two girls hadn’t noticed the other scientist in the room; Lumi recognized him as the bearded man from yesterday, still more casually dressed than what was certainly required. He capped his coffee cup and slowly walked towards the girls. “Isn’t she from Wutai? She must be pretty conflicted with everything going on-”

“She’s fine.” Portia said quickly, appearing a bit unhappy with the other scientist’s arrival. He took a quick sip of coffee and looked at Lumi.

“Kid, you can’t take what these people have to say to heart. They’re at the center of the most powerful corporation in the world. They feel as if they earn a certain respect.”

Lumi shook her head, not understanding. “I’ve been nothing but respectful!”

The bearded scientist took another swig of coffee. “That doesn’t mean they’ll return it. What they want isn’t something they’ll return. Shinra lets them bark and bitch, so long as they know how to light a Bunsen burner-”

“I’ve got it, Hollander. You can go.” Portia’s glare could cut through glass.

Hollander smiled, nodding as he turned. “Yes, ma’am.”

Portia watched with Lumi as he left. “What a scumbag.”

Wringing her hands together, Lumi looked at her. “But he had a point. Right? I can’t-”

“Lumi, one of first rules of working in the science department: don’t listen to Hollander. Just, don’t. All he wants is your sympathy. He’s a real piece of work, trust me.” Portia looked at Lumi as she appeared at her wits’ end.

“What am I supposed to do? Who should I trust?”

“… that’ll come with experience. Just; don’t think too much about what all these windbags have to say; and don’t take their shit to heart. Focus on your job. The better you get at it, the more reliable you become, they’ll-”

“I’M A STUPID COFFEE GIRL.” Lumi nearly shouted, pleading her case. “Wh-what kind of difference can I make?!” She heaved, her jaw quivering as she tried to hide her face. “I’m nothing. I’m more useless here than I was on the streets.”

Portia watched Lumi suddenly turn away as more scientists entered the room. “L-Lumi-” She walked to stand next to her, capping the coffees to help. “This is going to be hard at first. Trust me, I’ve been here for years now and my work still doesn’t satisfy Hojo. No one’s does, no matter how much they brown nose, or try to sate his interests; there’s nothing that can indulge him. There are some good people here. I promise.”

“I know there are,” Lumi sighed, thinking about Reeve. “I guess I’m just not used to this.”

“It takes time.” Portia looked at her watch, clicking her tongue. “Hey; I gotta run. I’ll catch up with you some other time, okay?”

“Yeah,” Lumi choked, she smiled waveringly at Portia. “See ya.”

Lumi handed another coffee to a scientist in line. She turned to find him smiling and thanking her. She genuinely smiled back at him as he left. She didn’t keep track of how many more people she served, but as she finished, she looked up at the clock, noticing that the first rush had finished five minutes earlier than usual. As she brewed more coffee and rinsed out the milk pots, she felt a little better than she had as she walked in.

Portia, the first friendly face she’d met, was a welcome person in her life. Lumi hoped to meet her friends soon, if they were anything like her. Her words comforted her, to not take to heart the words of these people who didn’t know her.

Or were those Hollander’s words?

Lumi thought back to the bearded scientist. Portia was so on-guard when he arrived. But what he said seemed to echo his words from the previous day. How words and names would be tossed at each other, no matter what; perhaps she was being too sensitive?

Lumi Ucello, born and raised in the slums, had already overcome odds. She became angry, but at herself. She’d been an idiot, blubbering and stammering this whole time. She was there to make money, to support herself and her parents; yet she had not signed over her body to be trod upon. She reassessed her situation: Fresh out of the slums, working towards stability.

But what else? Lumi had been living on top of the plate for little over a week now; but the job had been her only goal. And now that she was here and working towards becoming a fixture within Shinra (despite her unimpressive title), she had little else. Lumi had only known scraping on the streets. She had no other talents; no friends. She remembered Portia, and she smiled. Maybe she could catch Portia at lunch in a few hours.

With that, her pager beeped: Lab 5 was about to have their weekly meeting, which meant Lumi wasn’t about to get any rest.


	4. Chapter 4

“Come on, Portia, I get to deal next!”

“Fine, here you big baby.”

For the first time, laughter was plentiful inside of Lumi’s small unit. In the kitchen, her table was finally full of happy people. Portia sat next to her, and on her other side was Reeve. Joining them were Portia’s two best friends: Miske, an engineer specializing in mako research, and Bai Ling, who also happened to be Reeve’s secretary.

“Should you two be hanging out after work hours?” Miske grinned as she shuffled a deck of cards and dealt everyone’s hand.

“I think we all know Reeve’s safe,” Portia smiled, batting her eyelashes at her best friend. “I’ve seen how Bai Ling gives Tseng the bedroom eyes.”

“Lord have mercy,” Bai Ling sighed as she regarded her cards. “That man.”

“Who’s Tseng?” Lumi asked Bai LIng, and she wagged her eyebrows playfully.

“Only her deepest, darkest desire.” Miske said, her voice turning husky before Bai Ling nudged her playfully with her elbow and answered Lumi.

“He works under Heidegger, the Director of Public Safety, as part of the Turks.”

Reeve looked at a confused Lumi. “The Turks carry out special missions, often given to them by the president himself.”

As Lumi digested this information, Miske looked up at her.

“So, Lumi; what’s different up here than in the slums?”

“…A lot. It’s actually a lot colder up here right now. The winters down in the slums are pretty warm to be honest. All of that exhaust gets built up under the plate, and just hangs around. But, in the end, they’re both pretty much the same. I mean; the slums have their own societies, markets, neighborhoods. Some just… aren’t as safe as others; whether it’s from monsters or thieves. It’s a lot safer up here.”

“Any plans? Like, are you gonna try to move up in Shinra?” Bai Ling asked as she laid a set of cards down.

“I don’t know. Right now I’m just trying to make a living. I’ve gone a full week without a complaint, so that’s something.”

“You seem a lot happier,” Reeve mused, shifting cards around in his hand.

“I had to reassess my situation. It took a while to figure it out; but it’s been getting easier.”

Reeve smiled at her, full of pride. “I knew you could do it.”

Lumi’s heart swelled, and she smiled back at Reeve. “I… I would like to do more, though. I don’t know if I want to fetch coffee my entire life.”

“You’ll have plenty of time to find a hobby.” Reeve assured her, setting down a few cards. “And you don’t have to work for Shinra your entire life.”

“Lucky her.” Bai Ling smirked. “Others aren’t so fortunate.”

Lumi looked at her, horrified. “Wh-what?” Miske further elaborated.

“Shinra’s quitting policy is so strict, some say you either die in Shinra, or you die on retirement day. It mainly applies to people dealing with confidential information. Right Reeve?”

Reeve continued to stare at his cards. “No comment.”

Lumi’s stomach churned, and she swallowed hard. But Miske continued: “But, like I said, you’d be in no danger of that.”

Portia smirked. “The science department’s last coffee runner actually quit to go live in Cosmo Canyon. Half of the staff can hardly even remember her name.”

With her nerves easing up, Lumi sighed and looked back to her cards, smiling as the group continued talking amongst themselves.

As she continued to make progress in her position, Lumi started making it to work earlier. As soon as she could finish her preliminary paperwork rounds, she’d begin to prep some drinks in advance for those who regularly got the same thing.

She even learned how to avoid talking to Hojo, the sallow-faced head of the science department. She always had a large black coffee pre-made for him, and she’d warm it up with her materia hand before giving it to him. One morning she overheated it, and worried about being reprimanded; but later that day she found the cup on a bench, his name scrawled on the side, completely full, and ice cold. She considered serving it to him cold from then on, just to see if he’d notice, but realized that he was easier to deal with when he was quiet. 

One scientist arrived early, as usual, and Lumi grabbed his drink with her right hand; keeping her arm out of sight as she activated her fire materia, rewarming the brew.

“Not too early this time, right?”

“Not at all; still very warm. Guaranteed,” She grinned, handing him the drink. His look of satisfaction was all she needed, and she turned away as he left. She began restocking some cups as she could hear someone entering the lounge. “What can I get for you?” She turned to find Hollander entering, pouring over the itinerary.

“Damn piece of shit schedule…”

Lumi smirked. “What a tongue.” She caught the scientist’s attention, but quickly became flustered. “S-Sorry.”

A chuckle behind her lifted her spirits. “Nothing to apologize for. Hopefully your day is going better than mine will be.”

“Why?”

“Hojo always puts me with the worst crew, on the most menial assignment. Oh; hazelnut latte, please.”

Prepping the espresso filter with a coffee pouch, she quickly poured milk into a steel pot and began steaming it; within her right hand, she gave it an extra boost of heat to quicken the pace.

“You and Hojo don’t get along, do you?” Lumi asked, setting the milk aside as Hollander regarded her curiously. “I’ve heard some stories.”

“We never have,” Hollander sneered. “I’d much rather be helping with the materia fusion chamber.”

Lumi looked at him as she pumped several douses of hazelnut syrup into the espresso. “That sounds interesting. That’s… that’s not confidential, is it?”

“Yes and no. It’s not something Shinra wants to announce publicly; but it’s not under lock and key. The chamber will be for use by research scientists and 1st class SOLDIERs.” He watched as Lumi listened, pouring the milk into the coffee. “It’s basically what it says on the tin; you take two different materia, and depending on their compatibility, you can create a brand new one; sometimes one that’s stronger than the ‘parent’ materia. There’s also the chance to use different materials in the mix to give it a boost, which is why we’re allowing SOLDIER to operate the chamber as well. Different materials can enhance different strengths; could make them endure more on the field, could give their materia use a bit more ‘oomph’.”

Lumi realized she was still holding the milk pot in her hand as she had already stopped pouring; she jumped, realizing she still had to cap his drink. “That’s amazing. I’d love to see it in action!”

Hollander smiled. “Maybe someday you will. Take it easy… what was your name?”

It had only been a month and a half, but better late than never. “Lumi.”

“Well, Lumi,” Hollander said before taking a cautious sip of his drink; and he smiled. “Thank you.”

Lumi turned to find Portia walking in, glaring at Hollander’s back as he left. “Hey.” Lumi grinned. “How’s it going?”

“He wasn’t bothering you, was he?” Portia asked before she served herself some coffee.

“No, not at all. He was just telling me about the materia fusion chamber.”

Portia seemed surprised. “Oh, that; Miske was actually on the development team for that during her internship. She could tell you all about it. What’s got you interested?”

“Materia’s one of the things I’m kind of good at.” Lumi blushed. “I’m not the best user, but I’ve got a couple… b-back home.”

“So you do have a hobby!”

Lumi laughed. “Kind of. I’d love to see what my materia could make.”

“Well, maybe I can pull some strings and Miske can get a couple of yours fused.”

Lumi smiled and waved good bye to Portia. As the room emptied, she looked at the shards in her arms. She wondered what could be created from these two materia. She frowned, then wondered if her materia had to be whole to perform the fusion. Regardless, her interest had been piqued by this information.

****

“I’m glad you’ve decided to stay.” Reeve said as he walked alongside Lumi. They strolled through Midgar later that night, expecting to meet up with Portia, Miske, and Bai Ling for dinner to kick off the weekend.

“I am too. I’m ready to get out of that housing unit, though.” Lumi grunted back. 

“Patience,” Reeve smiled. “You’ll get there.”

Lumi wrapped her jacket around her, her mind on so many things. Her new job, her growing confidence, her new social circle; she smiled as she enjoyed this foreign, almost peaceful feeling.

They eventually caught up with the girls, and dinner was one of the best experiences Lumi could remember having. The food, the atmosphere; she laughed the loudest she ever had. As they waited for dessert, one of her hands absentmindedly wrapped itself around the other forearm; a habit she had not yet broken. Her thumb ran over the small bump where the materia shard rested, and her mind wandered, wondering about the materia fusion chamber again. She was so tempted to see the machine; having a new materia would be like getting her birthday early.

“Your arm okay, Lumi?” Bai Ling asked, watching Lumi curiously. Lumi jumped as she snapped back, and she smiled.

“Oh, yeah, sorry! Just… zoned out for a minute.”

“Hey, how are your parents?” Miske asked tentatively. “Are they still in the slums?”

Lumi nodded, her face turning somber. “They are. I sent them some money from my last paycheck. I hope they’re doing alright; I haven’t had a lot of time to go see them.” She sighed, closing her eyes. “I feel so guilty. I’m up here, having a three course meal while they’re stuck down there.”

Reeve patted Lumi’s back. “There’s nothing that says you can’t enjoy the time you have to yourself while you’re here.”

“I know.” Lumi said, still fighting off the gnawing feeling in her chest.

As they finished their meal, and parted ways, Lumi returned to her housing unit, bundled up as the wind gusted. It was at these times when her entire body shivered that she missed the stuffy humidity of winter in the slums. She made it back to her suite, and as she shed her coat and scarf she passed by her mirror. She took a moment to look at herself, regarding how she’d changed in the time she’d moved. She wrung her hands together before folding them and resting her chin on her knuckles.

She recalled the worry and emptiness of leaving the slums to pursue this chance; but she smiled. The risk she took had started to pay off; and she was beginning to look forward to each new day.


	5. Chapter 5

Lumi walked towards Miske and Bai Ling as they sat in a corner during lunch. She plopped down, quick to open her container of last night’s leftovers. After a rare few seconds of silence, she looked up at the girls. “Where’s Portia?”

Miske, looking up from her tray, pointed behind Lumi with her fork. Lumi twisted around to find Portia speaking with someone. She almost thought it was Reeve, but the man was wearing a SOLDIER uniform. Tall and muscular, he smiled warmly during his conversation with her.

“She’s talking to Angeal Hewley,” Bai Ling explained. “Again.”

“Again? Has this happened often?”

“Mm-Hmm.” Miske smirked. “She thinks he’s just darling.”

Lumi laughed, looking back as the two conversed. “I think it’s nice.”

They watched as Portia and Angeal shared a laugh before he handed her something. They parted ways, Portia watching him dreamily as he passed her. She looked at her friends and grinned the entire way back to the table.

“Geez, what now?” Miske asked.

Portia showed them a slip of paper. “I got his number.”

“About time.” Bai Ling smirked. “You two have only been making goo-goo eyes at each other for months.”

“We have not!” Portia bristled indignantly.

“Please.” Bai Ling commented back. “You tease me because I’ve got it for Tseng when you’re worse than I am.”

Lumi watched the three friends. They kept her entertained as they argued, albeit lightheartedly, about their romantic escapades. Portia looked at Lumi, trying to change the conversation.

“You were late; you get held up by another rush?”

Lumi snorted. “No; you know how they replaced all of the locks? The keycard they assigned for my supply closet was malfunctioning and I had to go to the front desk to get a new one. Almost took a half an hour to even get back upstairs.”

“A lot of keycards have had to get replaced.” Bai Ling sighed. “They’re talking about having all new ones sent in. The current batch is just all sorts of messed up.”

Lunch resumed as normal. The group continued to gossip about how much they hated the new keycard system, and Portia went on to laugh about how Hojo nearly had a meltdown after three consecutive keycards failed to allow him entrance into his lab.

Another two months had come and gone, and Lumi had a busy weekend ahead of her. She finished her shift, raced home, packed up her clothes, and caught the train to go see her parents. She hopped on, trying to be graceful with her luggage as she sought a seat. She nodded at an intern she recognized and was about to sit across from her when she looked towards the end of the car. She had to focus on the figure at the end. Dressed in a parka with a thick wool scarf surrounding his chin, Hollander sat, reading a newspaper. He noticed her and nodded to her. He must have had the day off. Lumi smirked and walked towards him, regarding his footwear.

“Sandals? Really? You’re still wearing those things?”

“They’re comfortable. Beside, weather will be warming up anytime now.” He answered. Lumi turned and jumped up to tuck her luggage away in the elevated compartment before sitting across from him. He blinked, as though surprised that she decided to join him. “Where are you off to?”

“Visiting my parents,” Lumi said. “What about you?”

“Meeting some friends in the next sector. There’s a bar we like. Has great appetizers.”

Lumi smiled. “Sounds nice. Are you meeting anyone from the science department?”

Hollander scoffed. “Nope. I’d rather get castrated than deal with those idiots more than I’m obligated to.”

Her smile faded; an awkward silence engulfed the air before Lumi attempted any more small talk. “So… what… what kind of science do you specialize in?” Lumi asked. Hollander looked up, amused by her question.

“Bioengineering; with a minor in chemistry.”

“What do you work on in Shinra?”

“Whatever Hojo doesn’t want to do.”

As Hollander’s voice became irritated at the mention of Hojo, Lumi decided not to press any more questions. She looked down at her feet and began fidgeting as she listened to the rattling of the car.

“What do you like to do, Lumi?” Hollander asked, still looking at the newspaper. Lumi shrugged.

“I don’t have a lot of hobbies, really. I have enjoyed starting to cook, though. But if I could do anything, I’d like to be skilled in using materia. There are a couple that I have. If I had the stamina, I’d love to learn how to use others.”

“You really love your materia. I didn’t take you for a fighter, Lumi.”

Lumi looked at him, confused. “I-I don’t… I don’t fight. I mean; I did learn how to use the ones I have as a means of defense, in case I needed it. In the end, I started using them to make a living before I worked at Shinra.” Lumi had never stopped to think of why she was so interested in having more materia. In the end, she realized that, at one point, they had meant two things to her: Safety and income.

She looked around as she noticed the train slowing down. Hollander folded his newspaper and sat up, waiting for a stop. As he departed, he took another glimpse at Lumi.

“There are training rooms in the Shinra building. They’re typically used by Shinra troops and SOLDIER; but I bet they’d let you sign a few waivers so you could practice with your materia. I’ll see if that’s a thing.” He smiled at her.

Perking up, Lumi was greatly excited to hear about this. She thanked him and watched him go on his way as he huddled behind his scarf.

Lumi sat back in the seat as she tried to rest up. It would be a one-hour hike through the slums after her four-hour train ride. She heard her phone chime, and she smiled at a text from Reeve, wishing her a safe journey.

She would miss spending this weekend with her new friends, but she needed to see her family.

****

Rolling her luggage along the dirt ground, Lumi groaned, not wanting to walk another inch. She was relieved, though, as she turned the corner that led to her old house. She smiled as it looked the same. Knocking at the loose door, she heard a bustling through the thin walls; and in time, her mother answered the door.

“Lumi! Baby girl, there you are.”

“Hi, mom.” Lumi smiled, reaching out to hug her mother, which stunned the older woman.

“Well, this is new,” her mother chuckled before Lumi parted. “You used to never want a hug.”

“I’ve kind of needed one lately,” Lumi responded, hugging her mother once more. They retired to the inside of the house, which looked even more cramped than Lumi remembered.

“My goodness, look at you,” her mother said. She reached out to touch Lumi’s longer hair. She looked over her daughter, regarding the new shirt she wore, which was of a deep blue color and was soft to the touch. Lumi also wore dark, finely hemmed slacks and new shoes. She smiled at the necklace Lumi wore, a long chain with a simple circular pendant. “You’re so grown up.”

“I’ve only been gone for four months. Have you been getting my checks?”

“Oh yes; they’ve been a great help. Your father’s out getting some supplies; he was wondering if you’d help fix up part of the house while you were here.”

With fatigue biting at her body, Lumi wanted to say no, but her mother’s pleading expression, and her own cultivated guilt caused her to smile and agree. Shortly after her arrival and settling in, Lumi and her mother set out to gather some food. Lumi treated her parents to a meal that they never would have been able to afford earlier that year. Once her father returned from the scrapyard, he greeted his daughter warmly, genuinely happy to see her. Their night was happier than most, and Lumi was delighted to see that her new job was truly of help to them.

Lumi awoke late the next morning. She sprung out of bed as she saw it was close to noon, but her parents didn’t fret. Lumi and her father quickly began sprucing up parts of the house, which had become weak from time. The old wood on the far side of the house was so rotten, Lumi wondered how the structure had remained standing; but by that evening, she and her father had nearly finished strengthening the wall.

Between shopping for food and new home supplies for her parents, Lumi was already back on the train before realizing she’d completely forgotten to go get her hidden materia. She was too tired to worry, however, and she curled up for a nap on the train. Her phone alarm beeped as she neared her stop, and she was back out on the streets, agonizingly close to home. Everything seemed to replay her first arrival. She stumbled up the housing unit stairs, dropped her luggage, and made sure her alarms were set.

She woke up, still in the clothes she wore when she left her parents’ house. After a shower, Lumi began to patch together details of her visit, and felt the rush of disappointment that she wasn’t able to get her materia, but there would be other times. She returned to work, hoping to hear that her friends had had a more relaxing weekend than she did.

Lumi for once, was the first to drink a cup of coffee. She poured vast quantities of cream and sugar into it, and she used her ice materia to cool the brew so she could drink it faster. Within moments, she was back into her routine. Nearly an hour into her shift, she was reunited with Portia and Miske.

Miske looked nervous, which in turn made Lumi concerned at her uncommon state. “Today’s the official unveiling of the fusion chamber. They’re really planning on using this for SOLDIER. More so than we thought they were going to. So if this doesn’t work…”

“It’s been tested, right?” Lumi asked. “It’ll work!”

“Machines have a funny way of malfunctioning when you don’t need them to.” Miske briskly answered. She smiled apologetically to Lumi, and made her exit.

“How was your visit?” Portia asked. Lumi smiled and appropriately yawned loudly. “I hope that’s a good thing.”

“It went really well. Better than I thought. I’m actually looking forward to going back again. But that won’t be for another few months. But at least I know they’re taken care of for now.”

“I know how that feels. I was actually raised by my aunt and uncle, and sometimes it’s hard to get out to go and see them. They live near Nibelheim.”

Lumi’s eyes widened. “That’s so far away.”

Portia nodded. “That’s why I was gone for so long when you started working. My uncle’s had some health issues lately. He’s… he’s older. I’ve been preparing myself for anything lately; so when I heard he was in the hospital, I took time off to go see him and make sure I said everything I wanted to in case… I-in case something happens.”

“I’m sorry,” Lumi said. Portia smiled and shook her head.

“It’s okay. He’s… he’s ready to be with his daughter.”

Portia excused herself, needing to get to work, and Lumi herself got back to business as she began serving the scientists again. A good few of them were as nervous as Miske as they headed her way to begin the presentation. She could tell it was a big to-do as men and women, dressed in fine suits, walked off of the elevator and headed straight down the hall. Lumi restocked the bar as she watched the doors close. After that, it was a waiting game. She went about her day as normal, being paged to find files to take to certain labs, or to take coffees to another to nurse them on their Monday.

Just as she was preparing to go to lunch, the doors to Miske’s lab opened, and the twenty or-so suited men and women filed back down the hall, not giving Lumi a second glance as they exited to the elevators, chatting among themselves. There was a bit of laughter down the hall, and just as Lumi turned to look, Miske was rushing towards her, and she grabbed Lumi in a bearhug, lifting her off of the ground and twirling her.

“IT WORKED IT WORKED THEY LOVED IT!”

She released Lumi, who hugged Miske back. “I told you!”

Miske had to wipe a few tears from her eyes. “It’s going to become a permanent installation of SOLDIER! I don’t believe this; I started working on this when I was an intern.”

“That team was lucky you were on it,” Lumi smiled back, squeezing Miske’s hands, happy that her friend was finally acting like herself again. After another hug, Miske nearly bolted for the elevator.

“I’m starving! I’m gonna head downstairs; I’ll see you soon!”

Lumi waved as Miske left. She began to clean up for lunch before she heard a grumble towards Miske’s lab. She looked to find the last scientist swiping his keycard furiously, trying to lock up the lab. After several attempts, there was no luck.

“Dammit!” He hissed, and he turned to find someone approaching. “Hey, Hollander, do me a favor, will ya?”

“What’s up?” Hollander asked, pausing to speak to the younger scientist.

“This keycard’s faulty; I gotta get a new one. Can you make sure no one gets in here?”

“Yeah; no problem. My lab work’s done.”

“You’re a lifesaver; I’ll pay for your lunch sometime! Thanks!”

The younger scientist rushed off as Lumi completed her clean up. She walked towards the lab, and saw Hollander sitting on a bench across from the door, checking his phone.

“These locks are shit.” Lumi smirked. Hollander looked up and rolled his eyes.

“You’re telling me. Last week my lab spent two hours just trying to get a keycard that worked. We were sent home so maintenance could figure out what was going on.”

Lumi laughed and looked back to the door. She walked over to try and peek through the frosted window, hoping to get a view of the machine. She jumped as Hollander was suddenly next to her, reaching over to push a button. The lab door slid open, and he smiled at her.

“Come on. Let’s go check this baby out.”


	6. chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warning for injuries/blood/bruising/needles/stitches

Lumi hesitated, waiting at the door as Hollander walked in. "Come on," he said. 

"Do... do you think-"

"It's safe. Come on."

Lumi worried about being caught; but curiosity got the best of her as she finally crept inside of the lab. She found Hollander standing in front of an altar-like platform. The plinthe swelled into a semi-circular shape; and the space inside of it was concave. Above it was an identical outcropping, and the mouths of both altars stood just two feet away from each other. 

Hollander regarded several manuals, reading them quickly. "Interesting." He walked over towards the machine and turned it on, listening to it quietly hum. Lumi joined him as he pressed several more buttons and looked at a display screen. "They did really well on this. There's even a function to fuse different materia types."

Lumi looked down at the controls with him, and upon reading the display screen, Hollander prompted the chamber to its fusing state. Lights inside of the concave structure began to glow and the machine hummed louder. Hollander smiled. "I gotta say; I'm pretty jealous I wasn't on this team." He turned to look at more manuals, and, still curious, Lumi rolled up her sleeve and easily edged her left forearm near the chamber.

She felt the materia shard inside of her arm tug towards the pressure, which began to build from within the chamber. In awe, she took a look at the materia and saw it glow from underneath her skin. She prepared to move away-

But the materia tugged still, and rather uncomfortably; and she found she couldn't move away without feeling horrible, sharp sensations within her skin. The shard continued to press outwards and she moved closer to brace herself. She tried to use her other hand to press against her forearm, hoping to stop the shard from it's uncomfortable tugging 

But her other arm also began to react as it came into contact with the growing pressure. Lumi winced as she tried to remove her arms from the the chamber; but it didn't take long for her to notice that the skin and tissue surrounding the shards was becoming damaged, and as she tried to pull her arms away once more, the gravitational pull was too strong by then.

"Oh no," she whispered, as the shards were now uncomfortably vibrating under her skin, causing more damage. "H-Hollander... Hollander shut it off!"

"What? What's going-"

"I need you to shut this off!" 

Hollander noticed she was stuck in front of the alter. He hustled towards her, only to be dumbstruck by what he saw. 

"Is... Is that materia? In your arms-"

"Shut it off!" Lumi shouted. Hollander panicked, and he tried to find the shutoff switch; but not before Lumi screamed, and he looked up to find her arms almost linked together before the shards ripped away from her arms, orbiting madly inside of the pressurized chamber. They danced in rhythm with countless droplets of blood as Lumi dropped to her knees, curling into a ball as she cried out. Hollander knelt next to her, looking up to watch as the two shards combined with the blood and came together in a blinding flash of light. A single materia dropped down into the concave dip of the bottom altar with a 'clink', and there was a deep hum as the chamber ended the fusion process.

"Lumi. Lumi, let me see." Hollander urged as he took Lumi's hands. She continued to shake as he could already see the blood dripping into her lap. He gently pried one of her arms away and took note of the large gouge in her skin. While the shards couldn't have been any bigger than a fingertip, the force of it being ripped caused large holes in her forearms. "Shit." He took off his labcoat and wrapped it around her arms to prevent any blood from getting on the floor. He escorted her towards the door before returning to completely shut off the chamber, and to grab the materia that rested inside of it. As he returned everything to its previous setting, he rushed back to Lumi and proceeded to help her his now-vacant lab as she hyperventilated.

"I-I didn't... I didn't know that was g-going to h-happen!" She choked as he sat her at a table, quickly gathering first aid supplies. 

"You're going to be okay," he insisted, rushing over to remove his now heavily-stained labcoat from her arms. Blood dripped down her forearms, and he sat across from her as he filled three syringes. " Two of these are numbing agents. This one is a painkiller; it might make you a bit woozy when you get up." He numbed both arms, injected the painkiller, he placed a pan under her arms and began to flush out her wounds. "Lumi; how... why did you have materia in your arms?"

Lumi hiccuped as the pain resided; but the shock was too fresh for her to stop shaking. "I... I stole some materia a few years back; a fire a-and and ice. I l-lived in the slums, I didn't want to be caught with materia. I was a-afraid others would want it; s-so I... I chipped off those pieces and buried the rest. I w-wanted what pieces I had on me to be extra secure... s-so I found a knife and numbed my arms with the ice materia and; the r-rest is history.."

Hollander stared at her as he continued to treat her wounds. She made a sound between a sob and a laugh.

"Desperation is a funny thing."

Hollander finished cleaning the wounds and he grabbed an excess of gauze. "I need to go make sure that Aubrey doesn't suspect anything when he gets back," he said, padding the wounds as he began to deftly wrap up Lumi's arms. "I'll finish this when I come back; until then-" he walked over to her side, taking her forearms and crossing them so the covered wounds pressed against each other, "-keep pressure on them; I'll be right outside if you need me."

Lumi nodded and waited, still shuddering as she was left alone. Within moments she heard Hollander scuffle off to greet Aubrey as he returned with a new keycard. Her hiccups lessened, and her shaking started to subside as she sat in the cold room. She looked at Hollander's stained labcoat, looking at how the once-crimson blotches were now turning burgundy on the pristine white coat.

She sat there, feeling such a fool; what would she tell her friends? What if she'd messed something up? Guilt swelled in her stomach, thinking about all of Miske's hard work. It wasn't long until Hollander returned and broke her from her thoughts. He retrieved the first aid kit from the other side of the table and checked her arms.

"I'm going to need to stitch these up," he said. Lumi watched nervously as he donned gloves and dug out a small, sterile package with a needle before he removed the gauze dressings. But first, he reached over and took her hand as he gently used another tool to firmly prod her fingertips. "Can you feel those?" Lumi nodded as he finished testing all of her fingers. 

"That's a good sign-"

"Lumi?!"

Hollander and Lumi jumped up, looking to find Portia at the doorway. 

"Wyndham." Hollander greeted her in surprise, and as Portia saw Lumi's condition, and the large gouges in her arms, she turned towards Hollander.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HER?!"

"Portia!" Lumi cried out.

"This wasn't-" Hollander couldn't finish before Portia grabbed him by his shirt collar, violently dragging him away from her friend. 

"YOU BASTARD, WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

"Portia he didn't do anything!" Lumi shouted weakly as Portia walked over to her. 

"Lumi, what happened? Oh my God; why are your arms-" Portia wheeled around again before Hollander could return to tending to Lumi's injuries and she decked him in the jaw.

"GET AWAY FROM HER YOU CREEP!"

Lumi stood up to intervene, but a second later everything went dark, and her legs gave out, causing her to fall on the cold tile floor. 

"Lumi!" Portia cried out. 

"Shit!" Hollander said, watching the effect of the painkillers take hold of Lumi as he and Portia rushed to her. Lumi was helped into a sitting position by Portia, her eyes fluttered as she rested against her friend's shoulder.

"You need to tell me what happened right now." Portia demanded.

"My materia." Lumi's voice wavered as she fought for consciousness. 

"M-materia?" Portia asked. She looked to Hollander, expecting answers. The older man sighed; and begrudgingly explained what had happened as quickly as he could, while also attempting to sound as guiltless as possible.

"And you didn't stop the machine?!" Portia growled through gritted teeth, snarling at the older man.

"Everything happened so damn quick, Portia! and I need to stitch her up, if you'd ever so kindly give me room!"

"What the hell do you care about her for?! You probably lured her in there!"

"Look, the numbing agent won't last much longer; so why don't you let me do this before it becomes more painful for her."

Portia glared at him, unwilling to cooperate; but she looked at Lumi, and the state of her arms, which were quickly becoming even more discolored as bruising set in. "Do it quick." She snapped. She watched as he retrieved the materials from the table; and he quickly began sewing together Lumi's wounds as she continued to wake up.

"Portia?"

"Easy; you're okay."

Lumi whimpered, but not from the stitches. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have gone in there. I could have ruined Miske's work."

"Lumi, that thing is solid as a rock. I would give you a lecture about wandering into unauthorized labs; but someone gave you an okay he wasn't allowed to give."

Hollander continued stitching; he finished one arm before wrapping it up. "You're right." He said. 

Portia blinked; watching as Hollander attempted to brush some of his hair out of his face as he started on Lumi's other arm. 

"I shouldn't have pressured her in there."

"You didn't pressure me," Lumi murmured.

Portia was confused. "Why ask her to go inside in the first place?"

"Because she was interested in it; and so was I. Perhaps I wanted to share an experience with someone who had a similar interest that I did."

"People might share interests with you if you didn't act like garbage. Maybe if you weren't such a prima donna in lab, you wouldn't get stuck with the shitty assignments."

Hollander didn't make eye contact. He finished stitching up Lumi's other arm and he dressed it quickly. He finally looked up at Portia.

"A prima donna, huh?" He smirked. 

"Just because you were in the running for department head doesn't mean yo-"

"Exactly! I was good enough for that; but once they chose Hojo they tossed me aside while they let inexperienced rich kids buy their way into the depar-"

"You are such a diva!" Portia sneered.

"I'm just as capable as any other scientist; yet I'm given the worst assignments, because Hojo doesn't want to-"

"You still have a job."

"You think that's a good thing?" Hollander asked, standing up as he walked towards the table. He took off his lab coat and tossed it forcefully down the laundry chute, causing metal door to clang loudly. "Yeah, it's a real blessing I'm stuck here."

Portia stared at him; uncertain of what to do next. Lumi watched, groggy and uncertain if what she was watching was real. Hollander looked back at Lumi, then to Portia as he sighed heavily through his nose. 

"She needs to go home," He said quietly.

"Why is she so out of it?"

"Between the blood loss and the painkillers, she's probably going to be pretty incoherent for a while."

Portia helped Lumi pull down her sleeves and, with Hollander's help, eased her onto her feet. Hollander looked at Lumi, who seemed to be fighting unconsciousness, and Portia wondered if she saw regret in his expression. "... 

When can she work again?" Portia asked.

"About a week; unless she's brave and wants to get back to work tomorrow; but I wouldn't recommend it in her state."

"No." Portia said. "I'll get her home."

Lumi tried to look back at the scientist; but before she could say anything, Portia was helping her out the door. Hollander heard Portia talking gently to Lumi. "I'll get you home; tell them you caught something."

Hollander rubbed his face as the door closed. He finished sanitizing the table and tools, properly disposed of the biohazardous waste, and gathered himself before leaving the lab.

But just as he was about to step out, he put a hand in his pocket, and his stomach dropped.

He pulled out the new, fused materia. He'd forgotten all about it. He plunked the orb into his other palm, looking it over. 

For the fact that it was made out of shards, it was decently sized; possibly smaller than most materia, though. It was an odd, muddle hue of green and a rusty, earthy color; possibly a reaction to the mixture of the natural dark green that magic materia had and Lumi's blood. Lumi had mentioned the shards had been an ice and a fire materia. By what he'd read in the manuals, this materia should have been of the thunder variety, but he had no materia skills to test it out. 

Hollander had an idea; and he hoped it would work. He took the elevator to the 49th floor, where he peered inside of each door in the hallway. At the fifth door he came across, he saw exactly who he wanted. He opened the door and walked inside of the foyer to the training room. Inside were three young men, laughing as they sparred, each wearing a VR helmet. Hollander tapped on a microphone.

"Excuse me, gentlemen; I apologize for the inerruption, but if I may speak to Genesis I would greatly appreciate it."

The three men paused, and one removed his helmet, looking slightly annoyed. He smoothed back his striking auburn hair and met Hollander at the door. 

"Doctor." He greeted in his usual, lyrical tone. "How may I be of service?"

"Genesis; I have a friend who found this materia. They haven't the room or supplies to test it out, and can't make it out to the countryside for some time. I offered to bring it to you, to see if you could figure out what kind of materia it is, if you'd be so kind."

Genesis took the orb and studied it. "What an ugly thing," he mused. "Hmm; I can figure it out." He said, tossing it in his hand. "I'm training at the moment; give me a few hours and I'll have your answers."

"Just meet me tomorrow; my shift is over. No rush. I just wanted to leave it with our most capable of magic-users." Hollander grinned. Genesis turned to face his friends.

"See? Even Hollander admits it."

A silver haired man's blank expression didn't change, even from behind the VR mask. "Whatever. Get back over here so Angeal and I can finish kicking your ass, rich boy."


	7. Chapter 7

_"I'm here."_

Upon receiving the text, Portia answered the door to reveal a dissheveled Miske. "Is she okay?" She asked as she walked inside of Lumi's unit. She saw Lumi asleep on her bed and she rushed over. Portia followed her as Miske saw the bandages on Lumi's arms, the bruising now extended to her elbows and wrists in colors of yellow and deep purple. "Hollander did this?"

Portia opened her mouth to answer, but had to stop herself.

"...No. Apparently Aubrey's keycard wasn't working to lock the lab doors after the presentation, and he entrusted Hollander with making sure no one got in. Well; Hollander completely disregarded this and went to go check out the machine, and he invited Lumi along. She's been so interested in seeing the chamber, and she must have trusted him enough to go inside."

"I've seen her talking with him before." Miske frowned. She placed Lumi's purse, which she gathered after her shift upon being told what happened, on the coffetable. "He's been friendly with her; I don't trust him. I'll bet you anything he wanted a scapegoat in case he was caught."

Portia looked at Lumi, wanting to agree. "But... he didn't abandon her. That's the thing. He took her back to his lab; that patchwork is all him."

"There's always an ulterior motive with him. I don't care how well he did with the stitching; Hollander never does anything that doesn't benefit him." Miske looked back at Lumi. "So... she had materia in her arms?"

"That's what Hollander said. He was looking over some of the manuals and he looked over and her arms were stuck in the chamber; They weren't whole materia; they were broken pieces. The chamber sucked them out. The force of it is what caused the most damage."

Miske looked at her friend as she slept, barely moving as she continue to rest. "The pressure in the chamber reaches degrees meant to meld materia together. That wasn't a pleasant experience she had."

Portia received another text, and she answered the door once more. Reeve and Bai Ling entered, both of them concerned.

"Well now that everyone's here," Portia started, "I can just go ahead and explain."

As Reeve and Bai Ling joined Miske, they listened to Portia. She filled them in on the details of finding Lumi and her conversation with Hollander.

Bai Ling shook her head. "Why did she think it was a good idea to go in there?"

"She was already curious about the machine," Portia said. "I mean; it doesn't give her the excuse to go in there-"

"Hollander gave her the okay." Miske said. She stood, folding her arms. "She... She doesn't know much about his position, and she may have thought it was alright."

Portia looked at Miske. "She's... not going to get in trouble, is she?"

"No. For one, it's about to become an open lab now that the chamber's been approved. Second, if anyone were to be reprimanded, it would be Hollander. He touted authority he didn't have. Lumi technically didn't touch anything. the weird thing is I went back into the lab and there's no evidence of biological matter in the chamber. It..." Miske stopped.

"What is it?" Bai Ling asked.

Miske looked at Lumi's arms. "Did Hollander say anything about the materias fusing?"

Portia looked at her. "He did. He said there was a fusion."

"... where is it? Does Lumi have it?"

"I... I don't know."

Reeve stood up. "Right now, that can wait. Is anyone available to help keep an eye on Lumi til she wakes up?"

Miske shook her head. "We're back in the lab with the chamber tomorrow to get it geared up for full-time use."

Portia sighed. "I'm on Hojo's team tomorrow; we're running some training tests for SOLDIER."

Bai Ling smirked. "Gonna have your first date with Angeal? Rough him up; show him who's boss?" She winked.

Portia smiled for the first time in hours, blushing bright red. "If I have to."

Bai Ling looked at Reeve. "There's an Executives meeting tomorrow, too."

"Which means we're both stuck at work." Reeve said.

Miske shrugged. "So... what are we gonna do?"

Reeve looked at Lumi, feeling some responsibility for her condition. "I'll take care of it." He offered before looking at Portia. "Why don't you go home and get some rest? You too, Miske. You've both had long days."

The two women nodded and, after saying their goodbyes, left together, talking about the day ahead. 

Bai Ling sighed loudly, looking at Lumi as she sat on the edge of her bed. "She should have known better."

"She should have. But there's nothing to be done about it now. I'll talk to Hollander tomorrow, unless Miske gets to him and pulverizes him first."

"So are you gonna stay with her tonight?"

"I was hoping I could run home and grab something, if you're alright with it. We both need to be at work, but she needs some supervision until the effects of everything have worn off."

Bai Ling smiled. "Gonna test out your little 'pet project'?"

Reeve grinned and quickly donned his coat before grabbing his suitcase. "That's the plan. He's coming along nicely." 

****

"I swear to God I'm gonna maul Hollander if I see him tomorrow." Miske growled to Portia as they traveled home. 

"Nothing was damaged though, right?" Portia asked, Miske looked at her. 

"That's not the point. Bitter little Hollander decided to snoop around my project because he's such a baby and can't take it when he doesn't get on an experiment he wants. I've worked too damn hard for too long just for him to sneak in and poke and prod around."

Portia looked at Miske. "So... as far as I know, Lumi had two materia; a fire and ice. What would be the outcome of the fusion?"

"A thunder materia. I hope she got it back in the commotion. I'm just curious, though. Other materials are fusable with materia. If the pieces she had were in her arm, certainly some of her biological matter was present as well. But nothing tested positive on the surface of the chamber. Anything that was on the materia when it exited her tissue must have been successfully fused. I'm really interested to see if that played a part in the process."

****

Could she move? Damn, she felt like lead. She could hear a clattering in the kitchen, as though food was being served. 

Lumi laid on her bed, barely able to open her eyes. In time, she finally awoke. She blinked heavily and attempted to sit up, but as she put any weight on her forearms, she winced loudly, and immediately sat up on her own. She cradled her arms, whimpering as she looked at the bandages. Everything started to come back to her.

Another clatter in the kitchen caught her attention. She heard water running, but didn't see any shadows signaling the presence of anyone else.

"H-Hello?" She tried to call her, but her voice was thick and raspy with exhaustion. She heard a strange 'flopping' sound, as though something soft had dropped to the ground.  
She blinked as the figure walked to the kitchen entrance.

It was a cat. A black and white cat standing on two legs, complete with little red booties. A golden crown rested on his head.

"Ahh you're awake, are ye? How're ye feeling today, Miss Lu-"

Lumi screamed. She tried to throw her pillow at the creature, but it didn't reach very far as she force of doing so further irritated her injuries. She stood up, but her legs nearly gave out as she tried to move her stiff body. Falling to the floor, she scooted back.

"S-STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

"Lumi! Lumi, it's alrigh'; I'm not here to hurt you!"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

_"Lumi, it's Reeve!"_

Lumi gasped, and she paused. She turned to stare at the cat. Another voice came out of it, even though it wasn't speaking. It looked at her, as though concerned, and Reeve's voice appeared once more.

_"Good morning, Lumi. How do you feel?"_

"Reeve?"

_"Sorry to frighten you; but I had to find a way to make sure you were taken care of. Please, allow me to introduce Cait Sith; he's a bit of a side project I've had for a few years now. I'm still working out the bugs, but he's come a long way."_

The cat approached Lumi, then bowed, almost to the point where his little crown touched the floor.

"It's a pleasure to meet ye, lass!"

Lumi breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. Y-you too."

_"How are you doing, Lumi?"_ Reeve asked. _"Do you remember anything from yesterday?"_

She looked at the cat. "Do... did you hear what happened?"

_"I know what Portia told me."_

"Portia? Oh..." That's right. Portia had found her with Hollander just before he was going to stitch her up. "A lot of it's a blur. I'm so tired." She groaned, rubbing her face. "I'm starving."

_"I've assigned Cait Sith to fix you some breakfast. It should be ready."_

"Assigned?" Lumi asked. 

_"Yes. Cait Sith is... an extension of myself, of sorts. Bai Ling has said he's 'too exuberant' to be anything modeled after me; but I would heartily disagree."_

"... Reeve?" Lumi asked, almost too scared to ask the biggest question on her mind. "Am I going to lose my job?"

_"No. I've taken care of everything; I plan on talking to Hollander about the incident-"_

"It wasn't his fault, Reeve."

_"He disregarded-"_

"Reeve. If I hadn't been stupid, none of this would have happened. I got too curious."

_"... I'll go easy on him. I can't say the same about Portia and Miske. But I'll see you tonight. Until then, get some rest; and in case you weren't aware, be gentle with your injuries; you have quite a few stitches. But until the girls and I can come and see you, Cait will take care of you."_

Lumi smiled, wiping her eyes, relieved she was still employed. "Thank you, Reeve."

_"You're welcome. I'll see you tonight."_

As Reeve's transmission ended, Lumi whimpered as she stood, her head spinning slightly. 

"Now, lass, I've got a bit of breakfast for ye if ye wanna have a seat." Cait Sith bounded back into the kitchen as Lumi rested back on her bed. She sat back on her pillow, gingerly regarding the bandages on her arms. They were still secure after a long, hard sleep. She heard a rattling from the kitchen and saw Cait Sith walking towards her, carrying a tray with a glass of water and toast with butter. He moved with such precision, he didn't spill a drop of water.

"I'm sorry it's not much; didn't wanna upset yer system."

"Thank you, Cait," Lumi smiled, reaching out to grab a slice of toast. Her arm continued to throb, even at the simple task of eating. Getting a drink of water was just as frustrating. She had trouble gripping the cup, and had to use both hands to get anything to her mouth. 

She didn't remember this pain when she placed the shards in her arms years ago, but that was different than the experience she'd had yesterday. 

Wait.

Her shards.

She blinked, and nearly jumped off of the bed.

What happened to the materia that had been made from the fusion? Did Hollander still have it? Did it get left behind? 

"Lass, are ye alright?"

Lumi looked at Cait Sith. He'd been startled by her sudden movement as he was gathering her dishes.

"I- I'm fine; sorry. I just remembered something." She said. As Cait Sith returned her dishes to the kitchen, she wearily stood and walked to gather her phone. 

****

"So where exactly is Banora?" Portia asked as she prodded at her barely-eaten salad, her attention elsewhere. 

Angeal smiled, and he took out his phone to show her a map. "Banora is out on a neighboring island. The only other village out there is Mideel. Both villages are pretty poor villages. Mideel, unfortunately, takes the cake. Our island rests where Lifestream has powerful outbursts, and it affects the soil, for good or bad. Banora's the village that benefits from the Lifestream's presence, as it doesn't constantly shift the earth underneath us as it does with Mideel, and our crops grow much better."

Portia smiled. "Banora; that's where those Dumbapples are from, aren't they?"

"I'm glad someone's heard of them," Angeal grinned.

"My uncle started juicing with imported Dumbapples a few years ago when he learned about their health benefits. He can afford to have them shipped, and it's helped his health a lot; but it's only helping so much anymore."

Angeal's expression softened, appearing sympathetic towards her. "I'm sorry. But you should talk to my friend, Genesis. He's the one who-

Portia jumped as she heard her phone chime. She looked at the screen and saw the beginnings of a text from Lumi. 

"Oh! Excuse me, Angeal; I'm so sorry," she said hastily, standing to go answer her phone.

"No problem." Angeal smiled back, giving her space.

Portia rushed towards a secluded corner in the lounge area and called Lumi. "Hey!" She greeted. "How are you feeling?"

Lumi sighed on the other end. _"Kinda miserable."_ She answered, and Portia could tell she was on speakerphone. _"I'd really like some pain meds right now."_

"You don't need any more of those, girl. Those knocked you out so bad."

_"I'll take a coma over having to deal with this,"_ Lumi groaned to the phone in her lap. Portia laughed softly on the other end, glad to hear her friend was nearly back to normal. _"Portia... is Miske-"_

"Miske is not angry at you. I promise. We're all coming back tonight. Miske is grabbing takeout and Bai Ling's got an old acupuncture kit her grandmother used to use, and she's gonna try to give you some pain relief tonight; should also help you heal. It works like a charm, trust me."

Lumi sighed, and she prepared herself again. _"Also. A-About Hollander-"_

Portia crossed her arms as best as she could as she held the phone. She waited, anxious to know where Lumi was going.

_"I just... I don't want to place any blame. Things were crazy-"_

"Lumi, it's okay. What's wrong?"

_"... I don't know where my materia is."_

Recalling the short conversation from the previous evening, Portia realized Hollander was, most likely, in possession of Lumi's materia. 

On the other end of the line, Lumi continued, her voice wavering. _"I mean- I know you told me not to have anything to do with him; I know. I just... I actually felt like maybe... maybe I'd gotten to know him a little."_

Portia didn't realize she was stalking out of the lounge at a deadly stride. At a distance, still sitting at the lunch table, Angeal realized she was on the prowl. He stood, but wasn't able to catch up with her before she caught the elevator. "Lumi, he does this. Don't worry, okay? I'm gonna get your materia back."

_"Portia, please; he may not hav-"_

"Who else would have it? Lumi, I know where you're coming from, I really do. But Hollander has been a thorn in my side since day one. If you worked directly with him, you wouldn't be as fond of him as you are. I'm not angry if you're friendly with each other. but I just need you to trust me, okay? He's someone to be cautious around."

_"I... I understand."_

Portia walked out of the elevator, peering inside of lab doors to see if she could find Hollander. 

"Doctor Wyndham," a voice said some feet behind her.

Bristling, Portia had to try and contain herself. "Lumi, I found him. I'll call you back later."

Before Lumi could voice any objections, Portia hung up the phone. She turned to find Hollander approaching, but as he opened his mouth to speak, Portia walked up to him and kicked at his knee, sending him to the floor in an instant.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" He shouted, groaning at the pain in his leg.

"Where is it?!" Portia howled, grabbing the collar of his lab coat. "Lumi's materia! WHERE IS IT?! You think you could just take off with it?! What did you do? Did you sell it? Some materia you could make a nice gil off of down in Wall Market? You piece of-"

Hollander reached into his pocket and slammed something into Portia's shoulder. Just as she was about to retaliate, she felt something was pressing uncomfortably into her shoulder. Portia snatched it away, letting go of him, and she looked into her palm to find a small pouch. Inside of it was a green materia, with a rust-colored streak inside of it. She looked down at Hollander as he stood, favoring the knee she kicked.

"Is that what you were looking for?" He grunted.

Portia stared at him, and she looked back at the materia. "... This... this is it? It's... it looks... wrong."

Hollander winced, rubbing his knee. "I forgot it was in my pocket after the commotion yesterday. I asked Genesis to test it out, to see what kind of magic it produced."

"What does it do?" Portia asked, her anger having given way to curiousity.

Sighing, Hollander looked at her, defeated. "Nothing. It didn't do anything for him."

Portia's heart dropped. "Lumi... went through all of that for nothing? That... no, that can't be right. It has to do something!"

"That's what I thought." Hollander said. "And there's only one way to know."

Portia's open nature returned to it's default mode around the scientist. "No; you're not going to play any part in this."

"Portia-"

"No! I'm not letting you anywhere near her! Not after-"

"You may not have a choice," Hollander growled. Portia's eyes widened, and she stood defensively.

"Are you threatening me?" She asked.

"No. What I am saying is that I'm the only person who knows of her injuries that can keep them taken care of."

"She doesn't need you. Bai Ling is going to help her through-"

"Wutai acupuncture only gets you so far."

Portia glared at him, her mouth twisting into a frown like he'd never seen.

"I need to check how she's healing," Hollander insisted.

Portia got nose-to-nose with the older scientist. "You. Are. Not. Touching. Her."

****

Lumi felt herself nearly nodding back off to sleep again. She wished she would, so that she could ignore the continuous throbbing in her arms. Cait Sith sat on the end of the bed, playing a little game of solitaire. The air was peaceful as Lumi began to drift and dream, and she didn't notice her front door creaking open. Cait Sith looked over to find Portia entering, peering in. "Is she asleep?"

Cait Sith leaned over to look at Lumi, waving his hand in front of her closed eyes.

"Seems to be. Come on in, Portia!" He whispered. He watched as Portia turned, and whispered to someone. "Are the girls here?"

Portia sighed, rolling her eyes. "Unfortunately, no," she said, and she walked in, followed closely by someone Cait Sith didn't recognize. She turned to face him.

"It's like we agreed. You check the stitches. You go. Promise?"

Hollander didn't look at her as he answered, quietly opening his briefcase on the coffee table to reveal a first aid kit.

"Promise."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mild warning for stitches/injuries

Cait Sith watched from the coffee table as Hollander sat on the edge of Lumi's bed. Portia kept an eye on him, standing near the robotic cat. 

"Is he a friend?" Cait asked innocently. Portia huffed, shaking her head. 

"No. But he wants to 'help'."

Portia felt her phone vibrate, and she looked at the caller ID to find that it was Angeal. Despite having apologized to him earlier about her sudden retreat from their lunch, she still felt guilty. She looked at Hollander to watch him gently cut off Lumi's old bandages with scissors.

"Cait; I'm going to be right outside. I'm gonna keep the door open; keep an extra eye on them."

"Yes, ma'am!" Cait nodded. Portia didn't want to leave, but she answered the phone, excusing herself while keeping an eye through the doorway. 

"Hey, Angeal. Yeah; I'm fine; I'm just... I'm so sorry about earlier. I know... I know, but I'm still really sorry..."

As Portia stepped out, Hollander continued to work, gently removing the bandages. 

"Hollander?"

Upon hearing her voice, the scientist mildly jumped as he realized Lumi was awake. She looked up at him, just as surprised to see him. "Lumi. How are you?"

"I-I'm... I'm okay, I guess." She said, looking down to watch him reveal her stitches. She winced, not enjoying the sight. She looked back up at him as he investigated the condition of the wound. For a sudden second, though, he looked over at her.

"I have your materia. Well, Portia has it. I'm sorry it took so long to get it back to you," he murmured, grabbing the first aid kit. Within moments, he began to swab the wound with antibacterial gel, making sure to be thorough as he cleaned between the stitches. 

Lumi whimpered, trying to ignore the stinging sensation. "I-it's okay." She peered over, trying not to face him directly. Her forearm rested in his larger hand as he cradled her wrist. He tried not to squeeze her bruised flesh as he treated the injury, remaining focused on the task at hand. "Sorry for the stress I caused." Lumi said.

"It wasn't your fault," Hollander shook his head. "I should have been more attentive. I shouldn't have even-"

"We both screwed up." Lumi said, trying not to get too frustrated. "That's that." 

Hollander chuckled. "We did."

Soon, her left arm was clean and he began to quickly bandage it up. For a few moments, Portia's muffled phone call was all that could be heard. As Hollander finished and moved to Lumi's other side to work on her right arm.

"Hollander; what's the materia like?" Lumi asked. "Have you taken a look at it?"

"I have. I took it to a SOLDIER operative to see if he could make heads or tails of it. He couldn't even get it to cast a spell."

Lumi's heart fell. "So it doesn't do anything?"

"That's what Portia and I were discussing. We don't think it's a dud; we just think that maybe, since your biological matter is a part of it; it may only work for you."

The door creaked open, and Portia stepped back inside, hanging up her phone. She saw the two talking, and she frowned; however, she remained at a distance. Hollander was in the midst of swabbing Lumi's other set of stitches when someone knocked at the door. 

Portia cracked the door open to see who it was. Miske stood outside with her arms full of takeout.

"Hey! Am I late?"

Portia swallowed. "N-no, not at all. H-hey; listen: Hollander's here, and I-"

"He's WHAT?!"

"Shh!" Portia attempted to hush Miske, but her friend wasn't listening.

"You let him in?! You're actually letting him near her?!"

Portia sighed, understanding Miske's frustrations. "I-I know; I don't like it either, okay? But-"

"Let her in, Portia." Hollander said. Portia turned to look at him as he continued to clean Lumi's stitches. "Don't make her stand outside." 

Lumi watched the door nervously as she could hear the arguing. Portia finally opened the door and Miske thundered in, nearly burying Cait Sith in the large brown bags full of hot food.

"You bastard. Look at her!" Miske growled, wanting to wring the older man's neck, but halted as she saw him cleaning Lumi's arms. "All those years I SLAVED on that machine! And you thought you-"

"I wasn't planning on taking anything, Miske. I was simply interested in-"

"Bullshit! I know how you are!"

"Then tell me what I was going to do." Hollander said, still focusing on Lumi. Miske snorted.

"You were probably gonna find something and blame us for stealing one of your ideas! You only bitch about that to Hojo every damn day!"

Hollander took another peek over Lumi's stitchings to be sure he'd cleaned it thoroughly. "Well, I can't argue with the fact that I always try to remind Hojo of what he did with my ideas-"

"Oh my God," Miske groaned, reeling and rolling her eyes.

"But I have to say, Miske. All the work you put in the machine. I'm impressed. You really went all out on that thing."

"You don't..." Miske had to stop herself. Even Portia found herself taken back. "... what? Are... are you complimenting me?"

"All of the functions, the setup; I saw what it can do. Now, Lumi I do apologize, but seeing that machine in action, I was really impressed. I'd heard it could fuse other materials with it, but when I saw it happen, it was quite the spectacle. Oh; Portia, show her."

"wh- oh!" Portia dug into her pocket and revealed the small pouch to Lumi. Lumi reached inside gingerly and pulled out the new orb. 

"This is it?" She asked, almost breathlessly. Miske stared, stumbling over to Lumi's other side to look at it with her. 

"I've never seen a materia look like this. W-wait, so you actually saw the fusion?" Miske asked, almost excited.

"I did." Hollander answered, beginning to wrap up Lumi's arm. "The pressure pulled a good deal of blood out of the holes."

"And it blended?" Miske asked, now completely focused on this new conversation. "Look at it." She whispered. "By all accounts, this should be a thunder materia."

"That's the thing," Hollander said, securing Lumi's bandages. "I took it to Genesis to find out what it could be." Looking at Miske, he shook his head. "Nothing. It didn't work for him."

Miske was baffled. She was allowed by Lumi to hold the materia, investigating it. 

Hollander continued. "Unless you think Lumi could be the only person to use it?"

Running her fingers through her blond hair, Miske sighed. "I don't know. We've used plenty of other materials; but nothing really biological. Most of our elements that we use to boost a materia's powers are lab-made, and are meant to react specifically with materia."

Portia looked at Lumi, not able to help a smirk. "Good job, Lumi. You broke it."

Lumi laughed softly, and Miske smirked, handing it back to her. "I don't think it's broken. Honestly, we need to find some time to try it out."

Hollander nodded. "I wouldn't suggest that for some time. All of that bruising is no doubt causing problems doing everyday things, am I right?" He asked. Lumi nodded.

"I... I don't know when I'll be able to get back to work. I can hardly feed myself, let alone get back to making coffee for a hundred employees," she said, worriedly. "What if Shinra replaces me?"

"They won't," Miske insisted. "Your position, in all honestly. Really isn't essential. The scientists complain that it is because it keeps them happy. Typically Shinra won't even assign someone the job unless they specifically want it, which no one ever does, or they have no other qualifications. And I mean that in the best possible way!" Miske insisted, seeing Lumi's dejected expression.

Portia sat next to Lumi. "Don't worry. Reeve's got everything sorted out. For now, just relax and focus on recovering."

The door knocked, and Cait perked up. "Come on in, Reeve!" He called. The door opened to reveal Reeve and, close behind, Bai Ling. They both smiled as the aroma of the takeout dinner wafted inside of the unit.

"Finally, I'm starv-" Bai Ling paused as she saw their unexpected visitor.

"Doctor Hollander," Reeve greeted. "I... I wasn't expecting you."

Hollander smiled, leaving Lumi's bedside to gather his things. "I was just on my way out," he said. He turned to Lumi, and nodded. "I'll be back to check those tomorrow. I-"

"Wait," Lumi said, sitting up once more. The others stared at her as she tried to stand, and Portia and Reeve were at her side. "I... I want to talk to you about something."  
Hollander blinked, and nodded. Lumi looked around and began to fidget madly. 

"Can... can we talk in private?" she asked quietly, fearing the reactions of her friends. The others, as surprised as they were, nodded, and respected her wish. They walked outside for a moment, leaving a confused Hollander and a nervous Lumi.

"What's wrong?" Hollander asked. Lumi took a deep breath.

"I need you to do me a favor. I... I think when I'm a little more recovered, I'm going to go and retrieve the rest of my materia. But I want to do it before my stitches are out... I want to replace my old shards."

"W-what? Why go through that aga-"

"I won't be as successful at my job without them; and I'll need to return back to full force, especially after being gone for so long. Besides; they... they help me stay calm. I feel so vulnerable right now. And until I know what this can do-" she explained, looking at her new materia, "I just want to know I'll still be able to defend myself, should anything happen."

"... Lumi, you've said that's at least a 5 hour trip."

"It is. But... Please. I need this."

Hollander looked at her, frustrated, but he closed his eyes and nodded. "Very well. But I'm going with you."

****

Miske nearly dropped her fork. "He offered to take you?!"

Bai Ling as well was visibly judging her friend's decision. "Lumi, why do you want to put that materia right back?" 

Lumi dug into her food, trying to explain her conversation.

"Those materia are a part of me. I know I don't need them back; but they've been a means of safety and survival for nearly seven years. Besides, I'll be lost without them once I'm back to work."

Portia sighed and looked at Miske. "But... if you can't cast any magic; and he doesn't know how-"

"There are defense items that can be purchased within town for travelers," Bai Ling mentioned. "Shinra always has plenty to grab for free for soldiers and troops, I'm sure he could grab a few and it wouldn't be an issue."

Reeve studied his meal for a few moments. He looked over at Cait Sith, who sat lackadaisically at Lumi's bedside, swinging his feet. "Lumi. I want you to take Cait Sith."

Lumi looked up at Reeve. "Are you sure? I-I don't want to risk your work-"

Reeve smiled. "I don't want to risk my friend. When you and Hollander make the arrangements, I'll send Cait Sith with you."

Bai Ling looked around. "Unless any of us can go with them?"

"It'll be a matter of when they choose to go." Portia said. "Even so, Hojo's got me on call right now since I'm on his team for the next month."

Miske prodded at her food. "Same. My team isn't gonna rest until that chamber is completely set up."

Reeve looked at Bai Ling. She shook her head, knowing their itenerary by heart for the next quarter year.

"Then," Reeve said, looking at Lumi once more. "It seems Cait may be acting as your guide."


End file.
